Eastern and south-eastern parts of Australia are expected to see falls in the level of electricity usage as more solar power installations are made and companies reduce their energy consumption.
This is according to the Australian Energy Market Operator's (AEMO) inaugural National Electricity Forecasting Report, which showed that people are simply not willing to put up with the rising cost of energy.
Matt Zema. AEMO managing director and chief executive officer, explained that much of the decline is due to structural changes in the Australian economy.
"Consumers have responded to price increases and taken advantage of government feed-in tariffs by installing rooftop PV systems and adopting energy efficiency measures, and that has reduced the amount of energy supplied by the electricity grid," he commented.
Over the past financial year, rooftop solar power systems are estimated to have generated 0.9 per cent of annual energy – and the success of the technology doesn't appear to be stopping there.
AEMO estimates that over the next 12 months, solar rooftop PV will grow by 1.3 per cent, accounting for 3.4 per cent of annual energy by 2021-22.
Solar is well and truly starting to shape Australia's electricity landscape!
Posted by Mike Peacock